[WATCH] 'England may want...'- Former Australia player predicts England's plan in ENG vs IND 4th Test in Manchester

India didn’t use the new ball well to their advantage as most of the leg-side deliveries on the feet of the two England openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, were smashed to the boundaries as they scored runs at a run rate of over five. Even Jasprit Bumrah was made to look ordinary in the first spell, with them bowling just three maidens in the first two overs.

The former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, predicted that the home side might look to plan around batting once in the first innings. Both their openers got over 80 runs individually, while Joe Root looked set to break a few more records in the third morning. The veteran warned the Blue Brigade to make a solid stat with the ball.

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‘There is a high percentage of chance, looking at the batting conditions, that they might only want to bat once in this Test match. They got the better of yesterday, and we see from the morning session to the afternoon session how much the wicket and conditions changed. So batting conditions might not get any better than right now.’ Ricky Ponting expressed on Sky Sports Cricket.

Watch: Ricky Ponting predicts England’s plan for ENG vs IND 4th Test in Manchester

Shardul Thakur, at the press conference, reckoned that they were on the leg side of the batters because they were looking for some swing off the surface. But their line and length were off the mark, as Ponting revealed. He also highlighted how the surface would be hard to bat on, with the spin becoming a threat.

Ricky Ponting thinks England might only want to bat ONCE in this Test match! 👀 pic.twitter.com/KKx1bgSAlY

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 25, 2025

‘Two class players at the crease and India will need to find a way early to get themselves back. They don’t take early wickets today, and this game will slip away quickly. And on this wicket with the sun shining, we saw a couple of balls start to turn yesterday afternoon. It’s not going to be easy to bat. England will look to bat long and take a huge lead, and the win percentage will go up.’ Ponting shed light.

India will have to win this game to come back from the 2-1 series margin. Otherwise, apart from a few WTC points, there won’t be any meaning for the fifth red-ball clash at the Kennington Oval in South London.